The Composites Skillls Alliance will be joining Oxford & Cherwell Valley College (OCVC) on stage as part of Autosport International this month.

OCVC's Performance Engineering Centre at Bicester is a founding training provider for the new Composites Skills Alliance and has been accredited as a centre of excellence for the sector. The Composites Skills Alliance is a partnership of employers and training providers committed to working together to improve the skills of the UK composites industry - a key technology area for a range of sectors including, automotive, marine and aviation.

OCVC will act as a central hub for a range of composites training, and support other colleges and providers in their course delivery. The programmes run at OCVC's Bicester Performance Engineering Centre are aimed at technical staff in the sector and range from 1-week courses to 3-year Advanced Apprenticeships. The OCVC team will be presented with their Composites Skills Alliance accreditation during a seminar they're leading at the high profile 4-day Autosport International Motorsport Show (January 12-15) at the NEC in Birmingham.

OCVC Head of Engineering Andy Thomas says: "We have an exciting opportunity to create bespoke composite training packages to meet the needs of the industry whilst recognising the national skills shortage in this field. It's a great honour to receive the accreditation as it recognises the high quality delivery and training that OCVC has to offer."

The Composites Skills Alliance was formed by the National Skills Academy for Process Industries and Semta, the sector skills council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies. It aims to develop training delivery standards to support a growing range of composites qualifications and courses. Through its training providers the Alliance develops training courses aligned to industry needs. OCVC are one of the Founder Providers that have completed the rigorous accreditation process to be part of this network. In addition to technical courses the Composites Skills Alliance recently launched Awareness & Introduction to Composites courses for people entering the industry or working in it in a non-technical capacity.

The Autosport International Motorsport Show features every level of motor racing - from karting to Formula 1- and with exhibitors ranging from specialist engineering companies to major manufacturers and everything in between www.autosportinternational.com/public/about-show

There's more on the wide range of courses available for students of all ages, interests and skill levels at OCVC via www.ocvc.ac.uk